Shareholders at the 48th Annual General Meeting of Union Bank Plc plans to launch a rights issue in the second quarter of 2017 to raise up to Fifty Billion Naira (N50 billion) in Tier 1 capital as it looks to accelerate business growth and position as a leading commercial bank in Nigeria.
The additional funding will also allow the bank to maintain compliance with regulatory capital requirements.
The bank reported a profit after tax (PAT) of N15.4billion on gross earnings of ₦126.6 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2016 Compared with a PAT of ₦14.3 billion on gross earnings of ₦117.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2015, this represents a growth of eight per cent in net profit and in earnings respectively.
Highlights of the bank’s financial performance in 2016 show that interest income grew by eight per cent to ₦98 billion from ₦90.9 billion in 2015, as a result of growth in the loan book and improved asset yields while non-interest revenue also moved up by nine per cent to ₦28.6 billon from ₦26.2 billion in 2015 owing to income from e-business channels.
Operating expenses (OPEX) increased by seven per cent to ₦62 billion from ₦57.9 billion in 2015 due to inflationary and devaluation pressures and ongoing investments in the bank’s technology and network infrastructure while gross loans grew by 38 percent to ₦535.8 billion compared to ₦388.8 billion in 2015.
